Tails and Cosmo: War For Life: Second Chance, P2
by Tails118
Summary: With the dreaded Covenant nearing destruction; Tails, Cosmo, Sonic, Amy, and Shadow must find a new squadmate before their new enemy arrives: The Devil himself and his army. Tails and Cosmo worry that their children will be dragged into the battle as well
1. Chapter 1: Four Long Years

Chapter 1: Four long years.

Planet Mobius, Epsilon Endri system.

May 17, 2567. 8:51 pm.

4 years after the death of Lucas AKA Dark Oak...

Tails awoke to a familiar and adorable sight: Cosmo and their 3-year-old twins, Connor and Lucy.

Connor is a gold and green two-tailed fox. Lucy looks exactly like her mother but had longer hair.

"Hey guys," he said. He noticed that he was in the infirmary again. "How many times did I get shot this time, Cosmo?"

"Amy says 16... with a Spiker."

Connor broke into their conversation. "How many aliens did you kill daddy? Huh... how many?"

"I greased so many brutes yesterday that I could fill your room with their bodies." He looked over to Cosmo, who just rolled her eyes and smiled. "But your mother probably could have killed more."

She started to blush a bit.

"But mommy is to nice to kill anything," Lucy yelled.

"She is nice these days, but she was the best soldier I've ever seen."

"He's right, Lucy. I was even second in command of your father's squad. I'm even better than Uncle Sonic," Cosmo said.

"Wow! You rock mommy," Connor shouted.

Later that night...

"Tails."

"What's up, Cosmo?"

"I think gonna go crazy if I don't get out on the battlefield soon. I haven't seen the inside of my helmet in four years."

"Well what can we do? We can't leave the twins home alone for days wondering if the next time they see us will be in a funeral home."

"I know, Tails. But can't you do something like build something to take care of them while we're gone."

"What? Like a robot babysitter," he said sarcastically.

"Yes! Exactly! Tails, you're a genius."

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay. I'll work on it tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, sweetie." Cosmo kissed him on the cheek and went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: One Final Push

FUBAR = F#cked Up Beyond All Recognition

Chapter 2: One Final Push.

Planet Earth, Solar System.

July 19, 2568. 9:00 am.

Sonic, Amy, Shadow, and Cosmo were in the briefing room of the Blue Typhoon trying to get a new trooper on their squad. It had been 5 years since Knuckles died and they were still trying to fill in his spot.

"Guys," Sonic spoke up. "I think we need to call in some 'outside' help."

"What do you mean, Sonic," Amy asked. "Everyone who isn't fighting is dead."

"No, Amy. Not everyone."

Suddenly, Tails walked into the room.

"Hey! Look who finally woke up," Shadow laughed.

"Up yours, Shadow. Cosmo, any progress on a new recruit?"

"Sonic says he's got someone in mind," she said.

"Yeah. I was thinking of getting the whole team back together," Sonic said.

"Good idea, Sonic. I'll get on with contacting everyone. You guys just prepare for the battle."

30 minutes later, on Mobius...

"This is the Chaotix detective agency. You're speaking to Espio the Chameleon."

"Hey Espio. It's Tails."

"Tails, how are you doing little man?"

"I'm alright. Look. I need to talk to Vector."

"Okay. I'll put him on. VECTOR! WAKE YOUR ASS UP!"

"Hello, this is Vector the Crocodile. How may I help you?"

"Vector. It's me, Tails. And you can help me by getting all of the Sonic Heroes together. I'll give you more information when everyone is at my old workshop. Got it?"

"Why do you think you have the authority to boss me around, small fry?"

"Because I am Captain in the United Nations Space Command Defense Force."

"Oh, well... um. Yeah, I'll get on it."

2 hours later...

Everyone who helped Sonic in his recent adventures; Espio, Charmy, Vector, Rouge, Blaze, Silver, Cream, and Cheese; were in Tails' Workshop, wondering why they were there. The workshop speaker system turned on. "Is everyone there, Vector," Tails asked.

"Yeah, everyone's here."

"Good. Everyone needs to step into the green swirling light. That will teleport you all here to the Blue Typhoon."

Everyone stepped into the light and found themselves staring at five familiar faces: Tails, Cosmo, Sonic, Shadow, and Amy. Everyone was happy to see each other again, but Rouge had a worried look on her face. "Where's Knuckles," she asked. Sierra team froze.

"Rouge...Knuckles died 5 years ago," Tails said sadly.

"What? This is all your fault Sonic!"

"Me. What the hell did I do?"

"You dragged him into that war with those aliens. You got him killed, you bastard!"

Amy walked up to Rouge and slapped her up side the head. "Rouge, Knuckles had a choice! He wanted to fight for freedom. He wanted to help us!"

"He died helping you!"

"People die in war! Thats just how it is! If you want to avenge his death, then grow up, grab a gun and fight by our side! If not, then get the hell of my ship," Tails yelled. Everyone who just arrived stared at Tails in shock. A marine walked into the control room to see what all the yelling was about. Tails looked at the marine. "Everyone who wants to help, follow Corporal Haverson to the armory. If you don't want to fight, then head back through the teleporter node and go home." Surprisingly, Cream and Cheese followed the marine along with the others.

"Come on sir. I just wanted to see what all the noise was," Haverson whined.

Tails just looked at him and said, "Marine, did I give you permission to bitch?"

He turned around and lead them to the armory.

Tails looked at Cosmo. "Rookies; can't live with them, can't live without them."

She just laughed.

After thirty minutes, they came back with their weapons of choice. Silver had a PANCOR Jackhammer, (full auto shotgun). Blaze had a flamethrower, (of course). Rouge had a DMR, (Designated Marksman Rifle). Vector had an M240 LMG. Espio had a silenced MP5K. Charmy had duel Glock 18s. Cream had a FAMAS. Cheese came back with a Mini Uzi and a red bandanna around his head. Sonic looked at Cheese and laughed. "I didn't know Cheese liked Rambo."

"Everyone, get ready to deploy into New Mombasa," Tails said.

1 hour later...

Their pelican landed and everyone hopped off. "Sierra team, secure the LZ," Tails ordered. Sonic, Shadow, Amy, and Cosmo took up defensive positions as their eyes scanned the area. "Vector take your team and scout the area within a half a klick radius."

"Uh... what?"

"Take your team around the area within half a kilometer and look for good sniper points, Covenant command posts, unused UNSC vehicles and weapons, and get back to this position in thirty minutes."

"Yes sir," Vector said.

"And cut the sir shit. We're not that polite out here."

30 minutes later...

Vector ran towards the rally point with his team. "Hey Tails. We found some good sniper spots for Shadow. Rouge is at one now."

"Thats great, Vector. Did you see any Covenant?"

"Any what?"

"The aliens! The giant damn monkeys with guns."

"Oh. No aliens."

Suddenly a large blue explosion hit a building. "Wraith! Find cover," Cosmo yelled. Tails grabbed the underside of a car and flipped it on its side. Cosmo ran and crouched next to him. "Tails, we got a shit load of brutes up ahead."

"More like 10 shit loads!" Tails looked at Cosmo. She was firing nonstop at the advancing brutes. "She is so beautiful," he thought.

Cosmo sat down to reload and saw Tails staring at her. "Tails. I know I'm hot, but you need to stay focused on kicking ass."

"Oh...right." He started shooting, but something else caught his eye, and it wasn't Cosmo. A huge hole was torn out of the ground under the brutes. Flames burnt most of them. Others fell into the pit. Everyone looked at Silver and Blaze. "That wasn't us," she said.

Suddenly creatures about the size of humans started to crawl out of the hole. These Imps had brown skin stained red with blood around the mouth and hands and threw small fireballs.

Others called Hell Knights were much larger and threw large orbs of pure energy. Their faces looked like bulls a bit.

The creatures destroyed all of the brutes and started eating them.

"Okay, that's just nasty," Sonic said.

The Hell Knights heard him and started running at Sierra team.

"Squad, open fire on those things," Tails yelled.

"Tails, sometimes to make some kills, you need a Big Frigging Gun," Cosmo said, as she pulled out her BFG9000. She fired and the blast vaporized three Hell Knights at once.

Sonic revved up his chainsaw and ran out in the open. A Hell Knight had its head cut off. "Yeah! Get some baby! You can't stop me!" Sonic proceeded in ripping Imps to bits. One threw a fireball at him but missed by a foot. "Oh! What! You need some glasses bitch!" Sonic sliced the Imp in half vertically. As he was running, a stray fireball hit him in the back, and he fell to his knees. "Can I get some help over here?"

"Just stay there Sonic! I'll come get you," Tails yelled. "Uh, someone cover me."

"Don't worry, Tails. I got your six," Cosmo said.

"Thanks Cosmo." Tails ran out to Sonic. "Sonic, you're lucky Cosmo has my back with the BFG or we would be screwed." He picked up Sonic and ran back. As soon as they returned, Tails dropped Sonic and started shooting again.

"Come on. You can't be mad at me, Tails."

"Well that's what you get for acting like that one black guy from Gears of War."

"You mean The Cole Train," Cosmo corrected him.

"Exactly," Tails said. "Shadow. This mission is FUBAR. Get us out of here."

"Got it, Tails. CHAOS CONTROL!" They were all teleported to the command room of the Blue Typhoon.

As soon as they arrived, Connor ran to meet them. Lucy was asleep.

"Yay! How many kills did you get today Dad?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe a hundred."

"So what happened today?"

"Well Con, if you want to know then watch my helmet cam video."

"Tails he's only four," Cosmo whispered to him.

"Well if he wants to know, that's the best source."

"Fine."


	3. Chapter 3: Hell Unleashed

Chapter 3: Hell Unleashed

Planet Mars, Solar System

October 12, 2569. 3:18 am.

Cosmo was up playing Gears of War 2, waiting for Tails to get back from his special ops mission. She was about to go to bed when the combat alarm sounded. Cosmo walked into the command room of the Blue Typhoon in full armor. "Look alive Sierra team, game time," she said playfully. "What do we have, Amy?"

"Looks like we need to support a marine unit under attack by a large force of zombies, Imps, and Hell Knights."

"Okay, everyone get ready for a combat drop. Shodow, get Sierra 2.

"Since when were you in command, Cosmo," Sonic asked.

"Since Tails left on that spec ops mission. Now let's move people." Cosmo looked down to the surface of Mars. "Tails please come back soon. I can't lead two teams by myself."

Sonic stayed with Cosmo, because he already had his armor on and always keeps his loadout in his pod. "This is your first mission as our C.O., isn't it," he asked.

"Yeah."

"You nervous?"

"I guess I am a little bit."

"Don't worry. Besides, you're Lieutenant Cosmo Prower. You'll do just fine."

"Thanks Sonic. Now I see why Tails is so attached to you. You are so inspiring."

"That 'unbreakable bond' has held for 20 years now. But he's a tough kid, and I don't think he needs me anymore."

"Sonic, don't say that. Tails needs you a lot more than you think." Cosmo put on her helmet and looked at the top of her heads up display. "Damn it. We have to be on the ground in 7 minutes."

1 hour later on the other side of Mars…

"Captain Prower to Home Base. I have retrieved the artifact and am requesting immediate pickup at LZ Bravo. How copy, over?"

"Good copy, Prower. Sending the Pelican now. Be at the LZ in 20 mikes, over."

20 minutes later…

Tails got on the Pelican and started flying back to the Blue Typhoon when he heard a faint voice on his squad radio.

"Tails, we need help! We are at the Olduvai research facility!"

"Is that… oh shit! That's Cosmo."

As soon as the drop ship landed, Tails jumped out and ran to the other side of the hanger, hopped into the old, but reliable X-Tornado, and flew off to find the rest of his squad.

2 hours later, at Olduvai…

"Vector, keep hitting them with that M-240! Sonic Rev up the chainsaw! Rouge, Shadow, cover him!" Cosmo was yelling orders just like Tails. "Jackson, how many rockets do you have left?"

"Just two, lieutenant!"

"Then use them on that Hell Knight!"

"You got it!" As the rockets hit their mark, a fighter jet flew over the creatures and nailed them with a mini gun and multiple air-to-ground missiles

There were Hell Knight chunks all over Cosmo and Private Jackson. The plane's cockpit opened up and Tails jumped out. He landed on an Imp's back, ripped its heart out, and jumped off of it, landing right in front of Cosmo. "Hey Beautiful. Did ya miss me?"

"More than ever, Tails. I had to be the C.O. and it SUCKED!"

"Sorry. But you can't escape the call of duty."

"I know."

Cosmo saw black flames erupt from the ground in the shape of a pentagram. Out of the center of it came a beast that would make Dark Oak piss himself to death. It was 50 feet tall, had a robotic leg along with a flesh and bone one and a missile launcher attached to one arm. It had the head of Hell Knight with three foot fangs and eight foot horns.

Tails looked behind him. "Are you kidding me? CYBER DEMON!" 

Meanwhile on the Blue Typhoon…

Lucy was chasing Connor around the ship, playing tag.

"Come on Lucy. You can't catch me!"

"Shut your noise hole Connor!"

"Make me!"

Connor ran into the control room and hid by their father's chair. Lucy found him and tagged him a bit too hard, making him fall onto the weapon panel. A robotic voice came on the speakers. "Mass Accelerator Cannon firing."

"Connor, you're in big trouble now."

"Me? You pushed me!"

"You still hit the big red button."

Back on Mars…

A large blast of heat and lead hit the Cyber Demon and it was blown to pieces.

"What the hell was that," Tails yelled.

"It looked like a M.A.C. blast," said Sonic.

"Well who called it in?"

"I don't know who it was but I'm glad because I was down to my last ammo belt," Vector said.

"Maybe you should carry more ammo, Vector," Charmy laughed.

"Oh shut up, Charmy!"

"Why don't you both shut the hell up," Tails yelled. "Shadow, do your stuff."

"Got it, Tails. Chaos Control."

As soon as they arrived, Lucy began to rat on Connor.

"Mom, Dad, you are never gonna believe what Connor did," she cried.

Tails rolled his eyes.

"What happened, Lucy," Cosmo asked.

"Connor hit the big red button!"

"Oh, well that explains the M.A.C. blast."

Connor ran out of his room to tell his side of the story.

"It's not my fault! We were playing tag and Lucy pushed me and I fell on the M.A.C. trigger," he said.

Tails looked at him and laughed. "Connor we're not mad. You two saved our lives."

Connor looked very confused. "How did we save you?"

"That M.A.C. blast killed a Cyber Demon before it got a chance to attack us," Cosmo said.

"What? Really? Yay! I made my first kill!"

"Great work, Connor," said Tails.


	4. Chapter 4: Knee Deep In The Dead

The mission log in this chapter was written by my friend who is also a new character. Everything about Seamus is true including the Monster.

Chapter 4: Knee Deep In The Dead.

Unmapped star system. Planet Zedrigon.

11:00 pm. January 13, 2570.

Soon after the battle on Mars, Vector, Charmy, Espio, Silver, Blaze, Cream, Cheese, and Rouge formed their own team: Alpha squad. Their new squad leader was Lieutenant Seamus Stahl. He was 50% Irish, 50% German, and 100% bad ass; as he would say. Alpha squad was stationed on an unknown planet last year that Seamus called Zedrigon. He comes up with very strange things after he drinks a Monster. (input from Seamus B. Stahl monster is amazing.)

Amy was doing her last radar scan of the night before she went to bed. The screen started to flash with the words Emergency Transmission in bright crimson letters. She hated to wake up Tails, but she had to or something bad might happen. Amy opened the door to Tails' and Cosmo's room and walked over to their bed.

"Tails! Wake up!"

In less than a second, Tails was up with his magnum in Amy's face. "Tails! What the hell are you doing?"

The fox lowered his weapon. "Damn it, Amy! If you needed to wake me up, you should have used the base alert system that I installed!"

"When did you install that?"

"Three hours ago!"

"You should tell people when you make an important upgrade to the ship!"

Tails sighed. "Fair enough."

"And seriously, do you sleep with a loaded gun?"

Cosmo slowly sat up. "Ever since we were attacked by those demons in New Mombasa, he's been a bit paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid, Cosmo. I know I would be the last person to admit it, but to tell you the truth, I'm scared to death, just like everyone else."

"And a little over protective," Cosmo added.

Tails hung his head in defeat. "So, what did you want, Amy?"

"I just intercepted an emergency transmission from Zedrigon."

10 minutes later...

Sierra Team was crowded around Tails while he read the message that Amy found.

"2569 planet Zedrigon (Espio) mission log : I've landed on Zedrigon with my squad no injuries reported yet although Charmy got a mosquito bite and wont shut up about it. Vector is missing a few clips for his m16 and I am without signal for the radio we are stuck until a ship flies within 50000 klicks of our location our pods were pushed way off course by a cosmic storm. But at least this planet isn't lifeless we have several reports of banshees while entering orbit three looked ok and the other two (five to a squad) looks as if they had run into a cliff side full of c4 , Seamus , our squads sniper /recon leader says theres a small covenant communications camp about seven clicks away from what he had observed there were at least four brutes maybe more and seven grunts one chieftain hammer AND fuel rod gun equipped. I will report again when we establish a base camp (four hours later) Seamus pov damn grunt head shots are messy I almost wish I could be there with the assault squad and take out some brutes but I'm stuck here on this lonely cliff side you know its kinda peaceful almost like I'm playing the hand of god here but I'm more of a shoot first answer questions later kind of guy ahh I digress. Seamus out. unexpected end of transmission…. Error code s.o.s. 49,32.599926.666,329943.

Snipers log : the covenant camp has gone silent I'm guessing the squad has taken it over then again I don't know this whole planet is like one big dead zone. No signal we lost com connection at 500 feet I could see them still no scope needed. Let me try again ''darkest shadow to silent ninja come in" "oh thank god we've been trying to establish contact for weeks how did you survive? "I eat only once a week " "go to the covenant camp NOW with all your rations" I looked at the five packets of ramen and the hot plate I used to boil water. Water fuck I need water we need water and this is a fucking wasteland no water anywhere. I have only 1 gallon of fresh water left. Five min. later. I get to the camp and all that's left is Espio and Charmy who was duct taped to a tree for some reason. We need to save all battery power and were running low so alpha squad over and out transmission will be sent into space for attempts to find help.

Four weeks later Transmission found (Seamus) were screwed, no ammo no water no food and no fire requesting backup over. Someone , anyone we need help. End of transmission."

Shadow was the first to speak. "I thought those f#ucking demons killed off the rest of the Covenant."

"It doesn't matter Shadow," Tails said calmly. "All that matters is getting down there and saving what's left of Alpha."

2 hours later...

After half an hour of searching, Cosmo found Alpha squad. They were torn to pieces. All that was left were arms, legs, bloody bones, and Cheese's bandanna. No sign of Espio, Charmy, or Seamus. "Tails," she said into her mic. "I think I found them."

"Great job Cosmo. We'll come to you," said Tails

Cosmo took her helmet off to get some fresh air, but there was nothing fresh about the stench of the rotting flesh of your friends. She quickly put her helmet back on so the air filters could do their job. She saw something coming towards her through the mist. It was Vector. When he came closer she could see something was wrong. He was missing his left arm, flesh on his side so his ribs were exposed, and lower jaw. Vector started to run at Cosmo. She pulled out her magnum and fired a warning shot into his leg. He fell hard and grabbed the front of is snout and began to pull. After a few seconds his head was gone, but he was still moving. Suddenly his body split in half. An Imp crawled out of Vector's body and threw a fireball at Cosmo. She dodged and shot both its eyes out, killing it instantly.

Meanwhile on the Blue Typhoon...

Lucy was reading a story to her stuffed animals when she heard guns and screaming in Connor's room. "What's with all the noise Connor?"

"I'm watching TV."

"We don't have any signal in space, smart one."

"Okay, it's a movie."

"Which one."

"It's called 'Lucy is annoying'."

"Very funny, fuzz ball." The volume was up so high that Lucy could walk into Connor's room undetected. She noticed that the "movie" Connor said he was watching was to gory to be a movie. "Are you watching dad's helmet cam videos?"

"Yes, alright! Now leave me alone!"

Lucy saw Hell Knight guts on the screen and made a disgusted face. "That's nasty," she said as she plopped down next to her brother and stared at the screen.

"You know what, Lucy. I think we should help them."

"How?"

On Zedrigon...

Sierra team was captured by the Hell spawns and tied to columns of rock with the only survivors of Alpha squad; Espio and Seamus. Cosmo was torn from the rocks by a Hell Knight and it started beating her. Every punch brought more and more streams of transparent green blood pouring out of her mouth.

Tails started to scream at the creature. "Let her go you un-dead son of a bitch! Put her down or I'll rip your f#cking head off!"

Suddenly, out of no where, a .50 caliber bullet took the Hell Knight's face off. Tails broke free and ran to Cosmo. She was laying on the floor gasping for air. "Don't worry, Cosmo. You're gonna be okay," he said crying.

Shadow used his superior vision to look for the sniper. "Am I seeing this? Tails, Cosmo, check this out."

Tails looked through Shadow's sniper scope. "What am I looking at? Wait a minute. Connor! Lucy!"

Connor flew over to Tails with his sister close behind on the ground. "Hi dad," they both yelled.

"What are you two doing down here? And who taught you how to shoot like that?"

"Mom," said Connor.

Lucy smiled. "We thought you might need rescuing."

Tails looked at her. "Well... we do, but you two are gonna stay in your rooms all night tonight with no video games, got it."

Sonic interrupted. "Tails, you can play father later. We got a hoard of zombies inbound!"

But these zombies were not normal. They could talk and they remembered most of their lives. Most of these zombies were also Metarex.

Suddenly, Tails came face to face with the worst thing to happen to the galaxy: Dark Oak. In seconds, they both had magnums held to the others head. The twins did the same; Connor with a double-barrel shotgun and Lucy duel, silenced M9s. Tails looked at them, then back at Dark Oak. "Why? Why did you kill everyone who ever cared about you?"

"They betrayed me."

"Bull shit! You went crazy! You betrayed them! Why?"

He ignored the question. "And my own grandchildren stand beside me with the intent to kill me. You two must be Connor and Lucy."

"Shut up! Any way this goes down, you die tonight," the twins yelled at the same time.

"Connor, Lucy stay out of this", Tails said.

Lucy backed away. Connor stayed right where he was.

Dark Oak looked at him intently. "Go ahead. Kill me fox boy."

Connor hated that name. "I'm gonna blow your brains out!"

"Connor," Tails yelled. "Daddy's working." He looked back at Dark Oak. "This is between you and me. Why did you come back as a zombie?"

"To finish what I started over 30 years ago."

"Wrong answer, mother f#cker," Tails said as he pulled the trigger.

Seamus stared at Tails. "Damn that was brutal."

"Yeah, whatever. Shadow, get us to the ship. Cosmo needs medical treatment now."

"Chaos Control."

Back on the ship...

"Seamus, what happened to Charmy," asked Tails.

"Well, Hell Knights need to eat to."

"That's cold."


	5. Chapter 5: The Shores of Hell

Chapter 5: The Shores of Hell.

Epsilon Endri system. Planet Mobius.

5:00 am. October 12, 2571.

"Are you all packed, Cosmo," Tails asked.

"I've got all the weapons, ammo, food, and med kits I can carry."

"Are Lucy and Connor ready?"

"Yes. They have everything that we didn't have room for in our bags."

"Okay. Lets get to the garage and load the Elephant."

As the base's garage door opened, Connor hid something behind his back. Lucy did the same, then turned the lights out. Tails pressed a button on his arm and they came back on. He stared in disbelief at what he saw. On the Elephant Mobile Mini-base, spray painted in blood red letters was "Through the Fire and the Flames." Cosmo ignored the joke and put all the bags in the cargo bay while Tails and Connor recovered from their laughing fit.

"You two are so funny," Cosmo said. "Which one of you came up with that?"

"That was all me," Connor said.

"Hey! I helped," yelled Lucy.

"So what. It was still my idea."

While Lucy and Connor were arguing, the garage door opened. Sonic walked in with an upset expression on his face.

"What the hell are you guys doing up at 5:30 in the morning," he asked.

"We're going to He-..." Lucy was cut off by Connor covering her mouth with his hand. She stepped on his foot and he moved his hand away. "Connor, don't do that, you ass hole!"

"Lucy! Watch your mouth." Tails stared at her with a look that would give a hell knight goosebumps. The scars on his face made him twice as scary as he already was.

"Sorry dad."

"Tails, where are you guys going?"

"It doesn't concern you, Sonic. Unless you plan on coming with us."

"Where?"

"To Hell," Cosmo said quietly.

"Then count me out."

"What's wrong? To scary for you, ya big pansy?"

"No! I'm just not gonna be part of a useless suicide mission!"

"Oh, Sonic the Hedgehog, defender of Mobius, too scared to fight some insignificant demons! That's what we've been doing for the past four years! Why are you backing down now? Stand up and fight!"

"You're not gonna shame me into going, so don't try."

"Awe, what's the matter? Am I making you cry, coward?"

"Go to hell!"

"That's what we're doing, dumb ass!"

Sonic got ready for a fight that he knew he couldn't win. Over the years, Tails had become stronger than ever. As they ran at each other, Cosmo ran between them in an attempt to stop the brawl.

"Would you two get a f#cking grip!"

All eyes were on her for what seemed like hours. Mainly because of the silenced M9s pointed to each of their heads. Tails turned away and walked silently towards the elephant.

Sonic looked at him and said, "Come back in one piece or don't come back at all!"

"We'll be back in two weeks!"

Cosmo gave Sonic an apologetic look, then followed Tails. Lucy and Connor started the engine on the elephant just as Cosmo stepped into the dimly lit troop bay. She found Tails sitting in the dark corner next to their bags with the distinct look of mild depression. "Tails, could I talk to you real quick?"

"Yeah, whats up?"

Cosmo walked to him, grabbed his chest plate, and pinned him to the wall. "What the hell was that all about?"

"What did I do," he asked in shock.

"Yelling at Sonic like that! What did he do?"

"I'm sorry, Cosmo," Tails said, terrified. "I'm just under a lot of stress right now."

"And you think I'm not? I'm literally going to Hell and back for YOU! I don't want to go, but I am. And do you know why?"

"I don't know." Tails was shaking like a vibrating cell phone.

"Because I-I." Cosmo fell to her knees in tears. "I don't want to lose you, Tails!"

"You won't, Cosmo. I'll always be there for you."

"No you won't. No one can live forever, Tails."

Tails had no idea how to respond to this comment. "Lets just get the mission going. Once you get a few good kills and you'll feel better. That's how I made it so far without you, Cosmo. Just taking out fear and anger on the enemy is the best way to get through."

"I guess you're right, as usual," she said as she wiped the tears from her beautiful, sapphire eyes. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Tails."

"It's alright, Cosmo. I'm not mad at you."

"I know, Tails. But it's wrong to yell like that at someone you love. Hell, from slamming you against the wall like I did, you must have a pretty bad headache."

Tails rubbed the back of his head. "It's not a major one." They both started laugh a little. After a few minutes Tails activated the teleporter and the elephant was surrounded in a bright green light, then it disappeared.

[6:30 am. October 12, 2571]

Cosmo opened her eyes and saw Tails, Lucy, and Connor unpacking all of their weapons and ammo to set up a makeshift armory. "Do you guys need any help with that," she asked, as she got to her feet.

"No. We're almost done," Tails replied. "The scanners indicate that the atmosphere is ok to breath, so you are free to go explore and find places for our sentry guns."

"Got it, Tails. I'm just gonna walk around for a little bit." As the loading ramp lowered, Cosmo was horrified by her surroundings. There were bones littering the landscape, hundreds of charred trees, patches of dead grass, and a blood-red sky with black clouds. A river of blood cut through the rocky soil and the cries of lost souls could be heard for miles over the roars of the Hell Knights torturing them. Hell was a wasteland.

Tails took his battle rifle from the weapon rack and walked over to Cosmo. It was then that the smell hit him. "Damn! This place smells like stale zombie shit!"

"Hey Dad," Connor yelled. "What do all the red dots on the radar mean?"

"Hostile contacts," he replied. "How many are there?"

"About 20."

Tails' mind instantly snapped from father to soldier. "Cosmo, get an AK-47 and an M6D. Connor, take a Barret M-107, M9, and climb on top of the elephant. Lucy, grab an M-10 and a pair of binoculars, and follow Connor." Tails put his battle rifle on his back and picked up a mini gun.

Cosmo looked at her motion tracker. "Tails. I've got another 10 plus foot mobiles 300 meters to the south!"

"Copy that. Lucy, start spotting targets. Connor, take out whatever Lucy tells you to."

"Got it, dad," the twins responded excitedly. As Lucy and Connor went into the Elephant to grab their weapons they noticed something sitting near the Mongoose four-wheeler int the front of the mobile base. Connor picked up his pistol and aimed it directly at the figure. "Who are you," he asked in a shaky voice.

"Just some back up if you guys need me." It was a female voice with a barely noticeable Irish accent.

"Mommy," Lucy yelled. "Come here. We have someone else here with us!"

"Well there shouldn't be," Cosmo shouted over her AK-47

The figure stepped into the light with her shotgun drawn. "Are you saying you don't want my help, Cosmo?"

Cosmo turned around and saw someone she thought she would never see again. The girl, another ODST was about 5' 11'' and had long, reddish-blond hair. There was a gray wolf and a full moon printed on her chest plate, symbolizing that she worked alone. "Sami!"

Tails stopped his minigun long enough to yell at the twins. "Connor, Lucy, what the hell are you guys doing?"

"I'm on, Dad!" Connor picked up his sniper rifle and fired one shot directly at a Hell Knight. The demon's head was replaced by a fountain of black blood. "Happy now!" Connor climbed up the side of the Elephant.

"Get twenty or more kills like that and I will be!"

Lucy grabbed her binoculars and followed her brother.

Cosmo snapped back to reality. "Sorry Sami! No time to talk right now!"

"I know!" Sami took a flare out of her bag, lit it, and threw it into a group of Imps and Hell Knights. The creatures all started gathering around it. Sami picked up a rocket launcher. "Cover your ears! This is gonna be loud!" She fired a rocket at the group of demons and they were blown to pieces.

"Nice shot, Jones," Tails yelled.

"Thanks, DarkFox!"

DarkFox. No one had addressed Tails by that name in nearly fifteen years. It made him feel confident. It made him feel like he could do anything. But most of all, it made him feel like the grim reaper of a soldier that even the Covenant had feared so many years ago.

[Later that night...]

Lucy and Connor had already fallen asleep. Sami sat by the fire pit across from Cosmo, who was leaning against Tails' real arm while his mechanical one gently stroked her leafy green hair. Both had long since gotten lost in each others eyes.

"You two are so cute together," Sami laughed playfully. Cosmo blushed and tightly hugged Tails, who was feeling very awkward from Sami's last comment. Cosmo hadn't even called him cute since they were fourteen years old.

"I don't think 'cute' is the best word to describe me."

Cosmo looked up at her strong, battle-hardened husband smiling. "Then what do you want us to call you, Tails?"

"Anything but cute."


	6. Chapter 6: Inferno

I am very sorry for the ungodly delay. I've had a lot going on these days, like writing my side story, Cosmo: ODST 285. Chapter 7: Thy Flesh Consumed, should be up by next friday at the earliest.

* * *

Chapter 6: Inferno.

UNKNOWN system. Planet UNKNOWN.

9:00 am. October 13, 2571.

"Come on, Lucy! Kill that guy!"

"I'm trying, Connor! Just shut your hole!" Lucy finally hit her target and took its head off. "Gross! You said there weren't any nasty things in this game!"

Connor laughed. "I lied!" His twin sister punched him in the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For lying!"

"Mom," Connor yelled.

Cosmo poked her head into the troop bay of the Elephant. "What's up Connor?"

"Lucy hit me," he whined, rubbing his arm.

"Connor said that Castle Crashers doesn't have any bloody guts and stuff in it but I cut some guy's head off and it was really nasty!" Lucy started her fake crying that drove Connor insane. Suddenly, Tails broke into the argument.

"Connor, don't lie to Lucy! Lucy, don't hit Connor!" The twins did not even have time to respond, there was a loud crack. "Do svidanya, bitch!"

"Great shot, Tails," Cosmo shouted, looking at a decapitated Hell Knight about a quarter-mile away.

Sami looked up at Tails from under the Elephant. Her face and hands were covered in engine grease. "Hey, DarkFox! When did you learn how to speak Russian," she asked, putting her wrench down on the workbench.

"Cosmo's been teaching me, Connor, and Lucy for a few years now."

"I've got this habit of speaking in Russian whenever I get mad," Cosmo laughed. "I just wanted Tails to be able to understand me when a demon gets on my bad side."

"That's understandable," Sami replied. "Those demons probably don't understand you though."

"Trust me," Tails laughed. "If they could understand her, those damn things wouldn't want to be fighting us right now."

"I'm not that mean, am I, Tails," Cosmo whined, sarcastically.

"Only when you want to be." Tails suddenly caught a small stench that only he detected at the time. He then lifted his head and began to sniff the air.

"What's wrong, Tails," Cosmo asked, reaching for her magnum.

"100 zombies, 53 Imps, 20 Hell Knights, and 31 Demons half a mile to the south." He looked through the scope on his sniper and confirmed his bold analysis. "Connor, Lucy! Bring out the mortars!"

"Got it, dad," the twins replied, running into the Elephant. They returned seconds later with two mortar launchers and a crate full of ammo. "Adjusting to the enemy's position," Connor yelled.

Tails looked back at them and calmly said, "Fire mission, fire mission. Calling in a rain dance. Make it wet in the kill box."

Mimicking Tails' use of a line from a video game, Connor used his best Russian accent and screamed, "Mortars inbound!" Cosmo laughed.

"Have you been playing 'Black Ops' again?"

"Maybe."

BOOM! Twenty zombies were scorched by incendiary mortar shells. Flaming zombie parts were scattered in every direction. Knowing what their dad was going to say next, Connor dashed to the sniper rifle and Lucy grabbed an SMG.

"Connor," Tails yelled. "Grab the-." Before he could finish his order, sniper shots rang out from behind him. "Damn, he's good. Must take after me."

"DarkFox! Watch out," Sami cried.

Tails tilted his head to the left as an Imp's arm shot over his shoulder. Before it could react, Tails grabbed its wrist and threw the Imp over his shoulder. As soon as it hit the ground, Tails jumped up and landed on it's head. He then took his knife and hurled it at a zombie, where it stuck between the monster's eyes. "Nice catch...with your face!"

Sami's shotgun tore through another one. "Get some, you undead maggot-addict!"

"Sami, that's disgusting," Cosmo shouted over her AK-47.

Tails shot an Imp with his Battle Rifle. "Ha! You're dead now! But you were dead before...Ah, f*ck you!"

"Mom! Dad," Lucy screamed from inside the Elephant.

Tails kept firing. "What's wrong, Lucy," Cosmo yelled back.

"There's something really big on the radar!"

"How big," Sami asked.

"At least 80 feet tall!" As soon as Lucy finished speaking, the ground started to shake violently. Suddenly a large, bloody hand burst from the ground. Then another, but this time it was mechanical. Then the head. The head of a Cyberdemon. Finally it pulled its massive body out of the ground. The other creatures scattered.

"You, fox," its demonic voice boomed throughout the wasteland of Hell.

"What the hell do you want, freak bag," Tails yelled defensively.

"Nothing less than the destruction of your kind...starting with you," it said, aiming its arm cannon at Lucy and Connor. "The offspring of our enemy and the next generation of soldiers." The demon fired its cannon. The bullet struck a transparent barrier just inches in front of the twins' faces and fell to the ground.

"Pick on someone your own skill level, you demonic son of a whore," said the armored creature behind them with his hands outstretched before him.

"Shadow," the twins asked in unison.

"In the f*cking flesh." Sonic and Amy appeared behind him.

"Nice of you to show up," Tails yelled to them. "I've got a plan on how to stop this thing without a MAC blast."

"No time, little bro," Sonic yelled back, pulling several brightly colored jewels from his bag. "I'm pulling a code: SEVEN!"

"Sonic, you haven't done that in nearly twenty years! You could die!"

"If hundreds must die so that hundreds of thousands can live, so be it!" The emeralds started hovering around him in a circle. Sonic started to feel a surge of unlimited energy flowing through him. An energy he hadn't felt since the Fall of the Metarex. His fur gave of a bright golden glow and his eyes turned as red as blood. "Hey, maggot-face," he called to the demon. "Tell your leader that we're coming, if I let you live!" He flew towards the creature at blinding speed, slamming right into its chest.

The demon staggered back from the impact, but was unharmed. "A mere light show cannot stop me!" Sonic didn't give up. He just kept pounding away at it.

As the others watched, Tails was busy trying to find a weakness. He noticed that the demon closed its massive eyes whenever Sonic got close to its face. "Connor, Shadow, use your sniper rifles and aim for the eyes. Everyone else grab grenades, rockets, mortar shells, anything explosive!" After everyone returned they formed a line facing the demon. Tails had his mechanical arm in BFG form, ready to fire. "Shadow, Connor, do it now!"

BANG! Both of the Cyberdemon's eyes exploded in a fountain of black blood. "Weapons at the ready," Tails yelled over the demon's screams. "Cosmo give me a countdown from ten!"

"Dyesit...dyevit...vosyem...syem...shest...pyat...chetyre...try...dva...odin...fire!" Hundreds of mortar shells, grenades, rockets and BFG cells were hurled a the Cyberdemon and exploded in a flash of light and smoke. The massive creature fell to its knees as Sonic delivered the final blow. "Chaos...Torrent!" A beam of pure energy shot out of Sonic's hands towards the beast, tearing it to pieces.

"Oh yeah! This just in, Sonic's a f*cking bad ass!" Sonic's color started to revert to its normal cobalt as he floated to the ground.

"Uncle Sonic, that was awesome," the twins yelled.

"Yeah but it takes a lot of energy. Me and Shadow are the only ones who can do it though."

"Sonic, what part of 'you could die from going super' didn't you hear," Amy screamed.

"Oh well, if you're gonna die young, have fun," Sonic laughed.

"Not funny, Sonic!"

Cosmo rolled her eyes. "Oospokoytes, Amy. Viy dolsniy poblagodarit Sonic vmesto togo chtobiy krichat na nego, (Calm down, Amy. You should be thanking sonic instead of yelling at him)."

"Hey, Sami," Tails called from inside the Elephant.

"What's up DarkFox?"

"Just call me Tails. So I hear UNSC command still hasn't assigned you to a new team yet."

"You heard right, Tails."

"Wanna form up with us."

"I'd love to!"

"Then consider it done. I'll send your transfer request to command. Welcome to ODST Sierra Team."


	7. Chapter 7: Thy Flesh Consumed

Chapter 7: Thy Flesh Consumed.

UNKNOWN system. Planet UNKNOWN.

1:30 pm. October 15, 2571.

[Team 2: Sonic and Shadow...]

"Tails, this is Sonic. Me and Shadow are in position."

"Got it Sonic. Get ready. Commence operation: Smart ass," Tails ordered with a slight chuckle.

Suddenly, Sonic ran out from his hiding spot and past a group of Hell Knights, firing his rifle in the air, yelling, "I'm a distraction!" The demons all stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Then Shadow teleported above the creatures.

"Chaos...Spear!" Several glowing spears of light shot out of his hands and tore through the Hell Knights.

"Nice one, Shadow! Killtrocity!"

"Since when were we keeping score, faker?"

Sonic took aim and shot a zombie in the head from 500 meters. "Since right now," he laughed, giving Shadow his signature thumbs up.

"Very funny."

[Team 1: Tails and Cosmo...]

Tails peered around the corner of the canyon wall. "Cosmo, there's an Imp patrol 40 meters to our 1:00."

"Got it," she giggled, cutely. Cosmo raised one foot, slammed it down again, then brought her hands together. In response, two slabs of rock jutted out of the wall and crushed the Imps. "Ya loobloo svou rabotoo, (I love my job!)"

"Simpateechna, (Nice) Cosmo."

"Spasibo, (Thank you) Tails."

"Pozhaloosta, (You're welcome)." Tails thought for a moment. "Why are we speaking Russian?"

"I have no idea," Cosmo laughed.

[Team 3: Amy and Sami...]

"Damn, damn, damn! Why did Tails have to split me up from Sonic," Amy yelled frantically.

"Maybe so you would think more about killing demons than making out with him every chance you get," Sami laughed.

"Oh, shut up, Sami!"

"Just saying, Amy."

Amy waved her hand in front of Sami's face. "Seriously, Sami. Shut up. I heard something," she whispered. She looked around for a minute. "I don't see anything. Let's keep moving, but stay alert."

"Got it, Pinkie."

Amy froze in her tracks. "If you ever call me 'Pinkie' again, you're gonna wish you were never born."

Sami rolled her eyes. "No wonder Sonic thinks you're such a bitch," she mumbled.

"What was that?" Amy turned around with flames in her eyes.

"Nothing. I said absolutely nothing."

"Damn right, nothing!"

[Team 2...]

"Hey, Shadow. Fifty bucks you can't hit this." Sonic fired his rifle and nailed an Imp in the eye from 300 meters.

"Ha! I'll call that and raise you ten," Shadow laughed. He shot a Hell Knight's face off from 1000 meters.

"Hey, no fair! You got a sniper rifle!"

"Then don't make a bet that you can't win," Shadow growled. "Lets get to the rally point before your brother throws a fit."

[Team1...]

There was a large wall looming over Tails and Cosmo. Behind it was a menacing citadel much like a cross between the Kremlin and the first temple in Jerusalem. Around it soared flaming skulls. The stench of stale death polluted the area.

"Where the hell are they?"

"Don't worry, Tails. They'll get here," Cosmo said, reassuringly.

"I hope so," Tails said, getting on his radio.

"What are you doing?"

"Just seeing how the twins are doing... Lucy, Connor, respond." A high pitched voice cut through the static.

"Hi daddy," Lucy shouted.

"Hey, Lucy. How are you two holding up?"

"Good, but Connor was playing XBOX when you told us to be on guard."

"No I wasn't," Connor yelled in the background. Suddenly, Tails heard an annoying beeping on the radio.

"Sorry, Lucy. Gotta go."

"Okay! Bye daddy!"

"Tails, this is Sonic were almost there."

"Well it's about damn time!" There was a green light in front of Tails. Sonic and Shadow stepped out of it.

"Sorry it took us so long, kid," Shadow apologized. "Sonic was too busy trying to prove that he's a better shot than me."

"I don't want an excuse. Where are Amy and Sami?"

"No clue," Sonic sighed, with a trace of worry in his voice. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw flashes of light about half a kilometer away. "That could be them."

"Damn it," Cosmo yelled, "They've got company!"

Shadow looked through his sniper scope. "Lots of company. Get ready!" Sonic, Tails, Shadow, and Cosmo took up positions behind some fallen pillars.

"Hell yeah," Sonic yelled. "Bring it on suckers! This is my kinda shit!"

Cosmo rolled her eyes. "And you say I play Gears of War too much." She took a bayonet out of her bag and fixed it to her AK-47. Tails pulled out a large cleaver and Sonic revved up his chainsaw. They could now clearly see Amy and Sami running for their lives from a hoard of zombies and Hell Knights. "Sami," she called into her headset. "If you have any C4, drop it now then detonate it!"

"Got it, Cosmo!" Sami dropped a few packs of C4 behind her and pulled out the detonator switch, then kept running to keep up with Amy.

"On my signal, blow the charges!" Cosmo waited a few seconds. The demons were just about to pass the charges. "Now," she screamed, leaping over the pillar. Sonic and Tails followed her over. Sami's Explosives detonated, killing several Hell Knights and Zombies. The three of them charged toward the oncoming creatures. As the seconds went by, time seemed to slow down and the world around them was silenced. The trio of soldiers and the demonic hoard were only 50 meters apart...40...30...20...10...5...4...3...2...1...Blood was splattered everywhere. Cosmo shoved her bayonet through a zombie's mouth so that the blade penetrated the back of its neck. The rifle's muzzle was pressed up against the zombies nose. She fired and the back of the creature's head exploded. The feeling of blood trickling down her arms was disgusting, but somehow, it was also very calming.

Sonic had nearly performed a chainsaw autopsy on a Hell Knight when its companion tried to slash at him with its massive claws. He used the blade of the chainsaw as a shield and cut off the creature's hand. Then he drove the blade through its neck. Its head fell to the ground in a bloody heap as Tails' oversized meat cleaver tore through the bodies of zombies and Hell Knights with ease.

Death came quickly for the remaining demons as Sierra Team made their way back to the Elephant. Upon return they were greeted by the energetic voices of Lucy and Connor. "How was freak-bag hunting, dad," Connor asked.

"Great," Tails replied with a yawn. "How was sitting around here all day?"

"Boring," Lucy said calmly. "Connor hogged the XBOX and made me stand guard."

"No, I didn't," Connor yelled.

"Hey, no arguing," Cosmo laughed. "You're twins. Aren't you supposed to agree on everything."

"I think that's only identical twins, Cosmo," Tails said. "Oh well. Rest up everyone! Tomorrow we're assaulting the citadel and ending this war!"


	8. Chapter 8: Pandemonium

Chapter 8: Pandemonium.

UNKNOWN system. Planet UNKNOWN.

4:15 am. October 16, 2571.

Tails woke up earlier than usual. He moved slowly to make sure that Cosmo, who was sleeping next to him, did not wake up. He looked out onto the horizon to the giant palace that dominated the landscape. The flaming black clouds surrounded its airspace. A blood red sun was just peaking out above the mountains of bones. The stench of death permeated the air.

He was about to go back to sleep when someone crept up behind and wrapped their soft arms around him. "What are you doing up so early, Tails?"

Tails turned around and was met by a very tired Cosmo. "Nothing. I just couldn't sleep."

"Why? Is everything okay?"

"Just a little scared."

"Well, don't be. You're the greatest soldier who ever lived. If anyone can make it through this, it's you, Tails."

"Do you really think so?"

"I know so, sweetie," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "You'll win this war for us. Then we can finally settle down, have a real home instead of living on a battleship, put the twins through school. All of that fun stuff that families are supposed to do."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I usually am when it comes to these things." She grabbed his hands. "Come on, Tails. You need to get some sleep."

[3 hours later...]

One by one, the entire team started to wake up. Sonic was the first, as he is in everything. Then Shadow, Amy, Tails, and Cosmo. Sami was the last to awaken. When she did, the rest of the team was preparing for the final battle. "Did I miss breakfast," she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, but there's some ham and eggs left over," Tails said, as he was writing, ДаркФокс (DarkFox) in the dirt. "Eat fast, Sami. We're moving out in ten minutes."

"Got it Da-, Tails." No matter how hard she tried, Sami kept wanting to call him 'DarkFox' as so many others did. As Sami finished eating, Tails stood on top of the Elephant.

"Alright guys, listen up," he called out to his team. Everyone turned their attention to him. "Now, I know we've been through a lot over the years. We've lost so many friends...so many heroes..." He bowed his head. "...like Demitri Makarov, Sgt. Barrett, Mike Zepher _**(A/N: Cosmo's former squad mates from Cosmo: ODST 285)**_, the Chaotix, Knuckles, and thousands of others. But...We defeated the Covenant. We stopped the Metarex, not once, but twice. And we have held our ground for five more long years against the forces of Hell itself. Today is the day take the fight to the enemy! Today is the day we avenge the deaths of our fallen heroes! Today is the day we end...this...war! For glory! For honor! For victory! And for life!"

After Tails speech, the team decided to move out towards the citadel of the Maledict. The walk was long, hot, and perilous. They narrowly avoided ambushes and traps set by Hell Knights as they fought their way to the citadel. Tails spotted an Imp guarding the front gate. "I got this," he said, preparing to sprint. He waited for the Imp to turn its back, then took off toward it at 100 mph. His foot collided with he creature's spine, sending it flying into the wall. "Spakoina noiche, mudak (Good night, asshole)."

"Sami," Cosmo said. "Take care of the gate."

"I'm on it." Sami placed a C4 charge in the center of the large wooden gate and ran. The blast ripped the door in half.

"Alright, guys," Tails said. "Let's move in. Cosmo, you're on point."

"Got it, Tails." Cosmo fixed a bayonet to her AK-47 and stepped through the hole in the gate, and looked around the large room. The entry hall was a huge, open room held up by pillars of skulls. There were many statues of dragon with the skull of a human with spikes jutting out from the sides. Suddenly a large plasmball flew past her head. "Dyermo! Ad Riytsar (Shit! Hell Knight)!" Cosmo fired her rifle blindly into the darkness.

"Your feeble attacks are useless, mortal. I shall grind your bones to dust under my feet," the creature said in a deep, demonic voice.

"Podoomaitye yeshye raz, viy oorod (Think again, you freak)," she screamed, as she raised her hand, then threw it down again. Immediately, a large section of the ceiling fell and crushed the Hell Knight. A pool of thick, black blood was slowly growing around the pile of rubble. "It's all clear, guys," she called, brushing some dust off of her face.

[1 hour later...]

The citadel was much bigger than it looked. Most of it was underground caves split by rivers of lava or blood. Rotting corpses were nailed to the walls, permeating the air with the sent of death. Imps could be heard throughout the caves, slowly growing louder as the team advanced. If Hell was a bad dream, this was their worst nightmare.

Sierra Team came to a large opening in the tunnel. The ceiling was hundreds of feet above their heads. The sound of giant wings in the distance alerted the team. "Keep your guard up, guys," Tails yelled.

"That would be wise," a demonic voice boomed from seemingly nowhere. But this voice was different from other demons. It sounded more peaceful, almost human. "But it will not matter. This land will become your tomb."

"Where are you," Tails ordered.

"Your sins become my strength. Your wrath, my power."

Cosmo tightened her grip on her AK-47. "Zyekrit vvyerh, viy chertov koosochek dyermo (Shut up, you fucking piece of shit.)," she screamed.

"I am the destroyer of worlds. I am death."

"Enough with the games, asshole," Shadow yelled.

"Every life you take adds another to my army."

"Show yourself, you coward!" Sonic had had his fill.

"As you wish, mortal." A large shadow passed over them. The creature landed in front of the team. The dust cleared, revealing a dragon made entirely out of bones. Its head was a human skull with four horns jutting out from the sides. Its wing bones were covered in a thick slimy membrane. "Now, tell me what it is that you came all this way for."

Tails stepped forward. "Call off your army...or I will."

"I do not fear you, mortal. If you wish for me to call back my horde, then you must defeat me."

"Easy enough," Tails smirked, pulling out his cleaver.

"Now then, my question to you. Would you rather waste your time fighting me or save your children?"

"What the f*ck did you just say?"

"You shall find out soon enough either way."

Tails clenched his fists. "You son of a bitch! Leave them out of this!"

"Tails," Shadow grabbed his shoulder. "Take everyone back to the Elephant. I'll handle him."

"You just make sure you come back in time, Shadow."

"Count on it."

[3 hours later...]

"Get some! Get some! Get some," Connor yelled at the TV.

"Hey! It's my turn with the machine gun," Lucy whined. A loud roar echoed outside. "Holy crap! What was that?"

"How should I know?" Connor grabbed a pistol and went outside to take a look. He came back a minute later, eyes wide, "We're gonna need bigger guns, Lucy."

"Why?"

"There's like a million demons out there! I'll do what I can, you call dad!"

"But, Connor," she said, shocked. "What if you get hurt?"

"Come on. I'm the son of the DarkFox. I'll be fine, sis." With that, he grabbed an old Covenant Carbine from the weapon rack and ran out of the Elephant.

Lucy put on her headset. "Mom! Dad! Me and Connor need help, now!"

"Lucy! This is Sami! We're on our way! What's wrong?" There was gunfire in the background along with Tails barking orders to the squad.

"We're being attacked by a horde of demons and there's way too many for us to fight by ourselves!"

"We'll be there as soon as we can! Just hold on! Is there anything you guys can do to hold them back longer?"

Lucy thought for a moment. "Nothing that I can think of." She ended the call and ran out to help her brother. "Connor! How many are there?"

"More than I can count! And that's a lot!" Connor punched a zombie in the face, then shot it. A demon grabbed his arm and pulled him up. He used his momentum to grab one of its horns, swing around, and snap its neck. "Don't even try it, ass hole!" 

"Hey," Lucy yelled, shooting an Imp. "I'm telling dad when he gets back!"

Connor killed another demon. "Lucy, this is not the time to be bitching at me for my language!" Suddenly, he heard his sister scream. He turned around and saw Lucy with a massive Hell Knight standing over her. Its foot was raised. "Lucy!"

The next few moments went by very quickly. Connor desperately reached out his hand, knowing he was to far away to grab her's and pull her away. Suddenly, a jet of fire shot out of his hand. At the same time, Lucy was surrounded by a bright light, which was discharged in a devastating electrical current. The Hell Knight was incinerated in the resulting blast. The other demons and zombies went scurrying away. "Are you okay, Lucy?"

"Connor...what did we just do?"

"That's what we want to know, too." Tails, Cosmo, and the rest of the team were standing by the Elephant. But one of them was missing.

"Mom," Connor asked. Where's Shadow?"

"He helped us escape by fighting the Maledict by himself."

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"Of course he is, Connor. He's Shadow."

"Come on, guys," Tails ordered, lets get our stuff packed up. We're leaving as soon as Shadow gets back."

"If he gets back," Sonic said quietly, then got to work.

After about 20 minutes, the team had all their gear packed into the Elephant. Shadow still hadn't returned. "Dad," Connor called out. "There's a problem with the teleporter."

"What's wrong with it," Tails sighed, walking into the Elephant.

"I don't know. It just won't activate."

Tails looked it over, picked up a few cables, and switched them around. Suddenly, the machine's screen flashed with the words "Input coordinates." "Get it ready to transport us back to Mobius. I'll give Shadow another five minutes, then we have to go." Sonic stopped in front of him.

"What do you mean, you'll give him five minutes? He'll be here eventually, Tails," Sonic pleaded.

"Sonic. If Shadow was alive, he'd be here by now. We all know that. If he doesn't make it back, we'll just have to accept it and move on," he said, sadly.

"Move on?" How the hell could you just tell us to move on? We're losing one of our best friends!"

"He's my friend too, Sonic! And you said the same thing to me when we thought Cosmo was dead! How do you think I felt about that?" Tails looked at the clock on his mechanical arm's touch screen mini-computer. "Everyone, load up! It's now or never!"

As the teleporter was activated, the entire team was silent. Thinking about their friend that they had left behind. They all knew Shadow was dead, though no one would admit it for days to come.


	9. Chapter 9: Aftermath

Chapter 9: Aftermath.

2575

By the end of the Great War (declared a victory in December of 2571) there were 3.7 billion UNSC casualties; 48% were civilians.

The Covenant was completely wiped out with nearly 4 billion deaths.

The Demonic Army was also completely destroyed. Death toll unknown.

ODST Sierra Team: Current status

The Members of Sierra Team were all awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their valiant, daring acts during the war. They currently reside in Vermire City, the new capitol of Mobius after New Mobotropolis was destroyed during the Metarex Occupation of 2563.

After Tails was promoted to the rank of Field Marshall and Cosmo to a Lt. Colonel, they moved with their three children, Lucy, Connor, and Dmitry to a large house across from Central Park. Commander Samantha Jones also lives with them. The family takes regular vacations to Moscow, Russia, on Earth.

Sonic and Amy were both promoted to the rank of Major. They were married soon after the war had ended. They live live on the northeastern side of the city by the Great Soul Ocean where their son, Saren, likes to go swimming.

The body of Lieutenant Shadow the Hedgehog was never found.


End file.
